Dæmonologia Sacra; or, A Treatise of Satan’s Temptations: In Three Parts
by Richard Gilpin
edited by Alexander Balloch Grosart
DÆMONOLOGIA SACRA; OR, A TREATISE OF SATAN’S TEMPTATIONS.
IN THREE PARTS.
BY RICHARD GILPIN, M.D.,
VICAR OF GREYSTOKE, CUMBERLAND; LATER OF NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.
EDITED, WITH MEMOIR, BY THE REV. ALEXANDER BALLOCH GROSART, LIVERPOOL.
EDINBURGH: JAMES NICHOL.
LONDON: JAMES NISBET AND CO. DUBLIN: G. HERBERT.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. PREFATORY NOTE, xiii
II. MEMOIR OF DR GILPIN, xv
III. DÆMONOLOGIA SACRA.
To the Reader,
PART I.
Chapter I.—The introduction to the text, from a consideration of the desperate ruin of the souls of men—The text opened, expressing Satan’s malice, power, cruelty, and diligence,
Chapter II.—Of the malice of Satan in particular—The grounds and causes of that malice—The greatness of it proved; and instances of that greatness given,
Chapter III.—Of Satan’s power—His power as an angel considered—That he lost not that power by his fall—His power as a devil—Of his commission—The extent of his authority—The efficacy of his power—The advantages which he hath for the management of it, from the number, order, place, and knowledge of devils,
Chapter IV.—That Satan hath a great measure of knowledge proved, by comparing him with the knowledge of Adam in innocency, and by his titles—Of his knowledge, natural, experimental, and accessory—Of his knowledge of our thoughts—How far he doth not know them, and how far he doth, and by what means—Of his knowledge of things future, and by what ways he doth conjecture them—The advantages in point of temptation that he hath by his knowledge,
Chapter V.—Instances of Satan’s power—Of witchcraft, what it is—Satan’s power argued from thence—Of wonder—Whether Satan can do miracles—An account of what he can do that way—His power argued from apparitions and possessions,
Chapter VI.—Of Satan’s cruelty—Instances thereof in his dealing with wounded spirits in ordinary temptations of the wicked and godly, in persecutions, cruelties in worship—His cruel handling of his slaves,
Chapter VII.—Of Satan’s diligence in several instances—The question about the being of spirits and devils handled—The Sadducees’ opinion discovered—The reality of spirits proved,
Chapter VIII.—Of Satan’s cunning and craft in the general—Several demonstrations proving Satan to be deceitful; and of the reasons why he makes use of his cunning,
Chapter IX.—Of Satan’s deceits in particular—What temptation is—Of tempting to sin—His first general rule—The consideration of our condition—His second rule—Of providing suitable temptations—In what cases he tempts us to things unsuitable to our inclinations—His third rule—The cautious proposal of the temptation, and the several ways thereof—His fourth rule is to entice—The way thereof in the general, by bringing a darkness upon the mind through lust,
Chapter X.—That Satan enticeth by our lust—The several ways by which he doth it—Of the power and danger of the violence of affections,
Chapter XI.—That lust darkens the mind—Evidences thereof—The five ways by which it doth blind men: (1.) By preventing the exercise of reason—The ways of that prevention: (1.) Secrecy in tempting; Satan’s subtlety therein; (2.) Surprisal; (3.) Gradual entanglements,
Chapter XII.—Of Satan’s perverting our reason—His second way of blinding—The possibility of this, and the manner of accomplishing it directly, several ways; and indirectly, by the delights of sin, and by sophistical arguments; with an account of them,
Chapter XIII.—Of Satan’s diverting our reason, being the third way of blinding men—His policies for diverting our thoughts—His attempts to that purpose in a more direct manner; with the degrees of that procedure—Of disturbing or distracting our reason, which is Satan’s fourth way of blinding men—His deceits therein—Of precipitancy, Satan’s fifth way of blinding men—Several deceits to bring men to that,
Chapter XIV.—Of Satan’s maintaining his possession—His first engine for that purpose is his finishing of sin, in its reiteration and aggravation—His policies herein,
Chapter XV.—Of Satan’s keeping all in quiet, which is his second engine for keeping his possession, and for that purpose his keeping us from going to the light by several subtleties; also of making us rise up against the light, and by what ways he doth that,
Chapter XVI.—Of Satan’s third grand policy for maintaining his possession; which is his feigned departure: (1.) By ceasing the prosecution of his design; and the cases in which he doth it—(2.) By abating the eagerness of pursuit; and how he doth that—(3.) By exchanging temptations; and his policy therein—The advantage he seeks by seeming to fly—Of his fourth stratagem for keeping his possession, which is his stopping all ways of retreat; and how he doth that,
Chapter XVII.—Satan’s deceits against religious services and duties—The grounds of his displeasure against religious duties—His first design against duties is to prevent them—His several subtleties for that end, by external hindrances, by indispositions bodily and spiritual, by discouragements; the ways thereof, by dislike; the grounds thereof, by sophistical arguings—His various pleas therein,
Chapter XVIII.—Satan’s second grand design against duties is to spoil them—(1.) In the manner of undertaking, and how he effects this—(2.) In the act or performance, by distracting outwardly and inwardly—His various ways therein, by vitiating the duty itself—How he doth that—(3.) After performance, the manner thereof,
PART II.
Chapter I.—That it is Satan’s grand design to corrupt the minds of men with error—The evidences that it is so—and the reasons of his endeavours that way,
Chapter II.—Of the advantages which Satan hath, and useth, for the introduction of error—(1.) From his own power of spiritual fascination—That there is such a power, proved from Scripture, and from the effects of it—(2.) From our imperfection of knowledge; the particulars thereof explained—(3.) From the bias of the mind—What things do bias it, and the power of them to sway the understanding—(4.) From curiosity (5.) From atheistical debauchery of conscience,
Chapter III.—Of Satan’s improving these advantages for error—1. By deluding the understanding directly: which he doth, (1.) By countenancing error from Scripture—Of his cunning therein—(2.) By specious pretences of mysteries; and what these are—Of personal flatteries—(3.) By affected expressions—Reason of their prevalency—(4.) By bold assertions—The reasons of that policy—(5.) By the excellency of the persons appearing for it, either for gifts or holiness—His method of managing that design—(6.) By pretended inspiration—(7.) By pretended miracles—His cunning herein—(8.) By peace and prosperity in ways of error—(9.) By lies against truth, and the professors of it,
Chapter IV.—Of Satan’s second way of improving his advantages, which is by working upon the understanding indirectly by the affections—This he doth, (1.) By a silent, insensible introduction of error—His method herein—(2.) By entangling the affections with the external garb of error, a gorgeous dress, or affected plainness—(3.) By fabulous imitations of truth—The design thereof—(4.) By accommodating truth to a icompliance with parties that differ from it—Various instances hereof—(5.) By driving to a contrary extreme—(6.) By bribing the affections with rewards, or forcing them by fears—(7.) By engaging pride and anger—(8.) By adorning error with the ornaments of truth,
Chapter V.—Satan’s attempts against the peace of God’s children evidenced—(1.) From his malice—(2.) From the concernment of peace to God’s children—What these concerns are, explained—(3.) From the advantages which he hath against them by disquieting their minds—1. Confusion of mind—2. Unfitness for duty, and how—3. Rejection of duty—4. A stumbling-block to others—5. Preparation of the mind to entertain venomous impressions, and what they are—6. Bodily weakness—7. Our miseries Satan’s contentment,
Chapter VI.—Of the various ways by which he hinders peace—First way, By discomposures of spirit—These discomposures explained: by shewing, (1.) What advantage he takes from our natural temper, and what tempers give him this advantage—(2.) By what occasions he works upon our natural tempers—(3.) With what success—[1.] These occasions suited to natural inclinations, raise great disturbance—[2.] They have a tendency to spiritual trouble—The thing proved, and the manner how discovered—[3.] These disturbances much in his power—General and particular considerations about that power,
Chapter VII.—Of the second way to hinder peace—Affrightments, the general nature and burden of them, in several particulars—What are the ways by which he affrights—1. Atheistical injections—Observations of his proceeding in them—2. Blasphemous thoughts—3. Affrightful suggestions of reprobation—Observations of his proceedings in that course—4. Frightful motions to sin—5. Strong immediate impressions of fear—6. Affrightful scrupulosity of conscience,
Chapter VIII.—Of his third way to hinder peace, by spiritual sadness—Wherein, 1. Of the degrees of spiritual sadness—2. Of the frequency of this trouble, evidenced several ways—Of the difference betwixt God and Satan in wounding the conscience—3. Of the solemn occasions of this trouble—4. The engines by which Satan works spiritual sadness:—(1.) His sophistry—His topics enumerated and explained—[1.] Scriptures perverted—[2.] False notions—[3.] Misrepresentations of God—[4.] Sins: how he aggravates them—[5.] Lessening their graces: how he doth that—(2.) His second engine, fear: how he forwards his design that way,
Chapter IX.—Of his fourth way to hinder peace, by spiritual distresses—1. The nature of these distresses—The ingredients and degrees of them—Whether all distresses of soul arise from melancholy—2. Satan’s method in working them; the occasions he makes use of; the arguments he urgeth, the strengthening of them by fears—3. Their weight and burden explained in several particulars—Some concluding cautions,
PART III.
Chapter I.—The first circumstance of the combat, the time when it happened—The two solemn seasons of temptation—The reasons thereof,
Chapter II.—The second circumstance, Christ’s being led by the Spirit—What hand the Spirit of God hath in temptations—and of running into temptations when not led into it,
Chapter III.—The third circumstance, the place of the combat—The advantage given to temptations by solitude,
Chapter IV.—The fourth circumstance, the end wherefore Christ was led to the wilderness—Holiness, employment, privileges, exempt not from temptation—Of temptations that leave not impressions of sin behind them—How Satan’s temptations are distinguished from the lusts of our own heart,
Chapter V.—Of Christ’s fast, with the design thereof—Of Satan’s tempting in an invisible way—Of his incessant importunities, and how he flies when resisted—Of inward temptations, with outward afflictions—Several advantages Satan hath by tempting in affliction,
Chapter VI.—That Christ’s temptations were real, and not in vision—That temptation is Satan’s employment, with the evidences and instances thereof—Of Satan’s tempting visibly, with the reasons thereof,
Chapter VII.—The general view of these temptations—Of Satan’s gradual proceeding in temptations—Of reserving a great temptation last—What a great temptation is; in what cases to be expected—Of Satan’s using a common road, in comparing these temptations with the ordinary temptations of men—Of the advantage Satan takes of natural appetite, sense, and affections,
Chapter VIII.—The rise of Christ’s first temptation—Of Satan’s suiting his temptations to the conditions of men—Of tempting men upon the plea of necessity—The reasons and cheats of that plea—His pretences of friendship in tempting, with the danger thereof,
Chapter IX.—A particular consideration of the matter of the first temptation, what Satan aimed at in bidding him turn stones into bread—Of Satan’s moving us to things good or lawful—The end of such a motion—How to know whether such motions are from Satan or the Spirit—What to do in case they be from Satan—Of his various aims in one temptation—What they are, and of his policy therein—Of his artificial contrivement of motions to make one thing infer another,
Chapter X.—Of Satan’s chief end in this temptation—His skill in making the means to sin plausible—The reasons of that policy, with his art therein—Men’s ignorance his advantage—Of the differences of things propounded to our use,
Chapter XI.—Of the temptation to distrust upon the failure of ordinary means—Of the power of that temptation, and the reasons of its prevalency—Of unwarrantable attempts for relief, with the causes thereof—Of waiting on God, and keeping his way—In what cases a particular mercy is to be expected,
Chapter XII.—Of Satan’s proceeding to infer distrust of sonship from distrust of providences—Instances of the probability of such a design—The reasons of this undertaking—Of Satan’s endeavour to weaken the assurance and hopes of God’s children—His general method to that purpose,
Chapter XIII.—The preparation to the second temptation—Of his nimbleness to catch advantages from our answers to temptation—That Satan carried Christ in the air—Of his power to molest the bodies of God’s children—How little the supposed holiness of places privilegeth us from Satan—Of Satan’s policy in seeming to countenance imaginary defences—Of his pretended flight in such cases, with the reasons of that policy—Of his improving a temptation to serve several ends,
Chapter XIV.—That presumption was the chief design of this temptation—Of tempting to extremes—What presumption is—The several ways of presuming—The frequency of this temptation, in the generality of professors, in hypocrites, in despairing persons, and in the children of God—The reasons of Satan’s industry in this design—His deceitful contrivance in bringing about this sin—Preservatives against it,
Chapter XV.—Self-murder, another of his designs in this temptation—How he tempts to self-murder directly, and upon what advantage he urgeth it—How he tempts to it indirectly, and the ways thereof—Of necessary preservatives against this temptation,
Chapter XVI.—Of pride, Satan’s chief engine to bring on presumption—What pride is, and how it prepares men for sinning presumptuously—Considerations against pride—The remedies for its cure—Pride kindled by a confidence of privileges and popular applause,
Chapter XVII.—Of Satan’s subtlety in urging that of Psalm xci. 11, 12, to Christ—Of his imitating the Spirit of God in various ways of teaching—Of his pretending Scripture to further temptation—The reasons of such pretendings, and the ends to which he doth abuse it—Of Satan’s unfaithfulness in managing of Scripture—Cautions against that deceit—The ways by which it may be discovered, xi
Chapter XVIII.—The manner of Satan’s shewing the kingdoms of the world—Of Satan’s preparations before the motion of sin—Of his confronting the Almighty by presumptuous imitation, and in what cases he doth so—Of his beautifying the objects of a temptation, and how he doth it—His way of engaging the affections by the senses—Of his seeming shyness,
Chapter XIX.—Satan’s end in tempting Christ to fall down and worship him—Of blasphemous injections—What blasphemy is—The ways of Satan in that temptation, with the advantages he takes therein, and the reason of urging blasphemies upon men—Consolations to such as are concerned in such temptations—Advice to such as are so afflicted,
Chapter XX.—The nature of idolatry—Satan’s design to corrupt the worship of God—The evidences thereof, with the reasons of such endeavours—His general design of withdrawing the hearts of men from God to his service—The proof that this is his design—Upon whom he prevails—That professions and confidences are no evidences to the contrary—His deceit of propounding sin as a small matter—The evidences of that method, and the reason thereof,
Chapter XXI.—Of worldly pleasure—Proofs that this is Satan’s great engine—What there is in worldly delights that make them so—Counsels and cautions against that snare,
Chapter XXII.—Of Christ’s answer in the general—That these temptations were upon design for our instruction—Of the agreement betwixt Eph. vi. and Mat. iv.—The first direction, of courageous resolves in resisting temptations—Its consistency with some kind of fear—The necessity of this courage—Wherein it consists; and that there is a courage in mourning spirits,
Chapter XXIII.—The second direction, that temptations are not to be disputed—The several ways of disputing a temptation—In what cases it is convenient and necessary to dispute with Satan—In what cases inconvenient, and the reasons of it,
Chapter XXIV.—The third direction, of repelling a temptation without delay—The necessity of so doing—What a speedy denial doth contain,
Chapter XXV.—The fourth direction, of repelling a temptation by Scripture arguments—Of several things implied in the direction—The necessity of answering by Scripture arguments—The excellency of the remedy—How Scripture arguments are to be managed,
Chapter XXVI.—The fifth direction, of prayer, and of the seriousness required of those that expect the advantage of prayer—Of God’s hearing prayer while the temptation is continued—Of some that are troubled more, while they pray more,
Indices , &c.,